Generation Why

My parents don't get it and maybe I'm being naive. I feel I cannot just "get a job" and call it a career. I cannot put my head down and make money that will provide for a family. I just can't. I feel I need to do something with my life that provides meaning to myself and others and also provides a living.

For whatever reason, the Millennial generation shares this characteristic. For better or worse, we live now in a time where we have a lot of what we need to feel safe and adequate. Sure there are some that may have too much and unfortunately there are many people in this world that have far too little, we do live in a day and age where our technological advancements have made comfort pretty accessible. So what then do we need after that to have a meaningful life?

For most of human history, life was about struggling to survive. For much of the modern world, we don't have that strife. With that, we have a responsibility to do more on this Earth and leave it a better place than when we entered.

There are so many people today that can put their head down, make a bunch of money and go on with their life. Are they truly happy though? Enter Prozac. It's indisputable that millions of people are on antidepressants. Is the cause for this their lack of living a fulfilling life?

While society tells us there is a clear definition of success when you peel back the layers of being human and the true natures of happiness, the subjectivity begins to run rampant. We are told that success, or the American Dream looks and feels a certain way: You are born, you go to school, you get good grades, you go to a good university, you then get a job in a well respected field, work hard and make your money, find a partner to have a family, raise that family, have them follow in your footsteps and then retire. It sounds okay on paper. The true nature of that narrative is flawed. What makes one happy might not do so for another. Many people live through this narrative out of fear or perhaps the influence of others that it's the "right" thing to do.

I challenge that it isn't and that their isn't a "right" or "correct" route in life. Life is a journey and that journey calls for the exploration of yourself. What makes you happy? Focus on that. What are you good at? Work hard on that. The success will then follow.